| Project/Area Number |
23K01541
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Review Section |
Basic Section 07080:Business administration-related
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| Research Institution | Aoyama Gakuin University |
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Principal Investigator |
萬 智恵 青山学院大学, 経営学部, 准教授 (80782276)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2023-04-01 – 2026-03-31
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| Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2025: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
Fiscal Year 2024: ¥390,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥90,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥390,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥90,000)
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| Keywords | Lao PDR / SEZs / MNEs / Lao PDR (Laos) / Special Economic Zones / People Management / IHRM |
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| Outline of Research at the Start |
A surge in international interest in Laos has accelerated the number of MNCs opening in special economic zones, where Japan, and other countries have invested jointly with Laos to fully utilise local benefits. However, the AEC seems to cause MNCs several difficulties. One needs to consider how MNCs can work in Laos under more competitive local labour market, and also the challenges for local labour. Simultaneously, there is not enough data disclosed concerning local work rituals and institutional restrictions. How do Japanese and MNCs try to handle them to work with local labour?
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This research focusses on a wide range of special economic zones located in Lao PDR through comparative case studies with international enterprises from different countries. Not only Japanese firms, but also other national counterparts whose subsidiaries located in these zones have been targeted, to compare how their international human resource management strategies are aimed at local employees and candidates. The fieldwork conducted indicates that a major problem for many major companies, not just Japanese and MNEs but also local firms, is that the population of the country is quite limited, leading to a small labour pool; thus local skilled employees tend to stay in the best firms for a long time or leave the country to find better opportunities under the ASEAN scheme. How to retain them seems to be a big point for enterprises.
Given that Japanese HRM has been unpopular with non-Japanese employees overseas, according to past studies on international management, as one of the first steps in this study, Japanese HRM strategies for foreign labour were explored. One achievement was a published journal paper discussing Japanese firms who employed staff from Thailand. It indicated that there was room for improvement for Japanese organisations’ handling of staff who have different backgrounds, expectations and interests to their Japanese colleagues.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
4: Progress in research has been delayed.
Reason
The progress of this research has been slower than initially scheduled, due to difficulties in gaining access to local interviewees. However, the data collected has shown an unexpected picture of the actuality of the circumstances of employees working in special economic zones. Local employees are looking at Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities as they all live in the economic zone areas. As most of the SEZs are located outside the city centre, they are in general quite underdeveloped. The impact on roads and other infrastructure resulting from the activities of these firms can be of concern to local citizens. Enterprises are expected to improve their corporate reputation over the long term, as well as to contribute to the local society. This new angle has led the researcher to expand the research focus and accordingly to revise the target of interviewees. For the next academic year, this point will be embedded into the project while conducting the research fieldwork.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Lao PDR has invited multinational firms to move into the country quickly (for example, by providing special economic zones (SEZ) that include tax and residency incentives). In particular, Lao PDR has one of the lowest average wages among the ASEAN countries, which makes the country an attractive place for international firms to site their factories. However, multinational firms in Laos need to understand the local field as well as plan further investment, because much remains unknown about local institutional restraints with regard to employment relations.
As mentioned above, the relationship between multinational enterprises and local society/community will be considered and examined in looking at wider HRM strategies in the SEZs. How much a win-win situation could be achieved matters for local employees when they decide to work in and stay long term in these zones. Therefore, the fieldwork will be adjusted to achieve a new target of interviewees who are involved into the zones.
For the next step of this research, the ways that ASEAN free flows of labour allow local candidates to go beyond their member countries’ borders to work will be also examined.
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